♪ anchor: you are watching "france 24." these are the headlines. barack obama kicks off his historic visit to cuba. the first u.s. presidential trip there in 88 years. attacks suspect arrested in belgium tells investigators he was planning new operations from brussels. salah abdeslam is now fighting

his extradition to france. a businessman wins the presidential race in benin as the incumbent concedes defeat. coming up for you this hour in business, a u.s. hotel chain is set to manage three hotels in cuba. the head of the indian wells tennis tournament sparks outrage after saying female players ride on the coattails of their male counterparts. first, our top story. barack obama and cuban president

castro holding a historic meeting that would have been unthinkable even months ago. the first president to go to the communist island since calvin coolidge arrived in a battleship in 1928. it marks the end of decades of standoffs between the two nations. our correspondent joins us from havana. raul castro will officially welcomed the obama's later today. is on the cards today? >> let me to you what the first item on the agenda is -- it is a symbolically heavy one. president obama will be going to martin memorial. there will be a wreathlaying on behalf of president barack obama. then he will walk to the palacio de revolucion.

he will be holding bilateral meetings with his counterpart, raul castro. this is the first time these meetings are happening on american or cuban soil. we are very close to one of the most famous images of havana. the effigy of che guevara. chances are that president obama will be captured in the same picture as that monument on that side of the building. the day is set for all sorts of momentous occasions, momentous photo opportunities, as well. this is also about serious discussions with the cuban government. they don't know each other very well. it was only 15 months ago in december 2014, when the first phone call between president obama and castro took place. it was that same day that they announced they were seeking the normalization of their relationship.

we are pretty much there, when a u.s. president can land in air force one in havana and meet his cuban counterpart -- indeed, the whole obama family is here. these are images we could not have imagined just a few months ago. anchor: it is true, that ties are warming, but there are still quite a few thorny issues, not least of which is the issue of human rights. will president obama addressed that during his trip? >> we know he will. he will bring that up during the bilateral meeting undoubtedly. he will be giving a public speech to the cuban people on tuesday, where we expect the human rights record of the cuban government to be front and center. he will also be speaking to dissidents. people don't necessarily want to talk on camera about the human rights record.

they certainly want to tell us about the lack of freedom of expression off-camera. that is something that president obama will undoubtedly bring up in the bilateral meeting, but also when he speaks directly to the cuban people -- a speech that will be broadcast live on cuban state television and that will be watched by a majority of the cuban population. anchor: thank you so much. suspectorists attacks -- paris attacks suspect arrested in belgium will fight his extradition to france. 130 people were killed in those attacks. already toldm is investigators he was planning new operations in brussels when he was caught. several of the paris attackers came from that area in brussels that is now the center of an anti-terror operation. details have come out already about another suspect linked to

the attacks, who has just been identified. >> it looks like more and more people are starting to come together. they have identified a second .uspect they were checked at the austria-hungary border. he was known under a fake identity, but the belgian authorities said they know his real name and he was suspected to have traveled to syria in february 2013. they said his dna was found in two houses that have been searched by authorities since the paris attacks. his fake identity was used to rent one of the houses in a belgian town.

he was the second person traveling in this car with salah abdeslam. the first one was the person killed in the raid on tuesday. he had also been known under a fake identity. african news now -- with super sunday elections in five countries there. in benin, businessman patrice talon won the presidential race. the incumbent conceded defeat. we learned more. end, it took less than 12 hours from the close of voting for voters to find out who their new president would be in benin. in the early hours of monday , the incumbent conceded

defeat to patrice talon. there have been hearty celebrations across the commercial capital. from talking to people here, that the joy is close a links to the outgoing of the current president. satisfied not been during the 10 years the outgoing president has been in power in benin. over time haseen made it difficult for people to elect someone backed by the government. benin, we see that this new president will develop the country.

>> the people of benin are winning in this election. they will change. ballots still need to be confirmed by the .onstitutional court " inor: that is "france 24 benin. in need share, voters headed -- niger, voters headed to the polls for the first ever presidential election. the opposition called a boycott. the outright majority was failed to be clenched to avoid a second

round of voting. results will come out shortly. voters in senegal cast their ballots in a referendum on reducing presidential terms from seven years to five years. president said the measures are needed to bolster democracy. the senegalese president himself have been criticized for not proposing to cut his own term. >> in a region better known for leaders who cling to power, senegal as long bucked the trend. presidential terms will be cut from seven years to five years, a problem -- promise that propelled the current president to victory. opposition candidates will be more chances for power. >> as you know, my dear

compatriots, this referendum has been proposed to reinforce our great democracy. also to give a new dimension to our rights. move is rare on a continent where some leaders are doing all they can to hold onto power. in december, rwanda voted to change the constitution the longtime leader to stand again. burundi has been torn apart by bloody unrest since its president won a fourth term in office in july. not --'s president has notbeen criticized for cutting his own term down. >> i think they rushed everything to get to the polls. they should have tried to explain to the people what the 15 points were all about. could explain why voters

trickled, rather than flooded into polling stations. by the afternoon, barely 25% of cast eligible to vote had ballots. anchor: the head of the indian wells tennis tournament in california sparked outrage after he made sexist comments about women's tennis. raymond moore said that female players were riding on the coattails of men, adding that they should get on their knees and thank god for male players. surprised -- unsurprisingly, the comments have not gone down well. mincemond moore does not his words. on sunday, the head of the indian wells tournament dropped a bombshell. using a press conference to share his thoughts on women's place in tennis. ride on the coattails of the men and they are lucky. if i was a ladies player, i

would get done every night on my knees and thank god that roger federer and rafa nadal were born. because they have carried the sport. >> unsurprisingly, his comments kicked up a storm. serena williams was among the first to respond. way andve come a long we should not have to drop to our knees. >> it was not long before he was forced to make a hasty apology. but then the world's top male player added fuel to the fire. on sunday, novak djokovic suggested men should get more prize money than women because they get more viewers. djokovic did add that women deserve respect and admiration for fighting or he will pay. -- equal pay. that is a controversy in the world of tennis.

let's take a look at the top stories on "france 24." barack obama has kicked off his historic visit to cuba, the first presidential trip there in 88 years. the paris attacks suspect arrested in belgium tells investigators he was planning new operations from brussels. salah abdeslam is now fighting his extradition to france. winsessman patrice talon the presidential race in benin as the incumbent concedes defeat. business news for you now. you are starting out in cuba, as well. a landmark deal was signed well before air force one touched down. >> that's right. hotel chain starwood signed a multimillion dollar deal to renovate and run three hotels in cuba. since all major hotels in the country are state owned, it puts

a major american corporation directly in business with the communist government for the first time since the revolution in 1959. the agreement stipulates employees will be mainly cuban citizens with a small number of ex-pats in key management positions. latinad of starwood's american operations says that with a growing number of tourist in the country, his chain wants to be ready to accommodate them. take a listen. >> we are going to elevate the quality of the properties to achieve the standards that we have established for those brands. receive more than 4 million tourists per year. this year is going to be much more. there may be more than 100 daily flights from the u.s. the amount of travelers will skyrocket. we want to make sure we are ready to welcome them.

>> staying with starwood, the company's board is backing a $13.6 billion revised bid from marriott. the merger was placed on ice days ago after a chinese insurer said it was interested in buying starwood? outor: another report come that a brexit could be catastrophic for britain. >> yes, yet another report. exportlion pounds of power could be lost by 2020. there could be a serious shock to the economy if britain leaves the eu in an upcoming referendum. a brexit means the company -- country risks losing jobs and pushing unemployment up.

richard branson said the damage would be enormous. >> it would be worst for the british public. to theage we will do country, to people who live in the country, will be enormous. i do believe that sense will prevail in the end. all of this extra bureaucracy will go into it. we've got a great market. let's make the best of it. >> let's get a check on the markets now. it is a mixed picture in europe. next, it was once the fifth most visited country in the world, but an uptick in violence has risked damaging turkey's tourism

market. recent terror attacks risk putting the globe -- growth on hold. turkey has been hit right where it hurts. it's vibrant tourism industry. tourism plunged 8% after terror attacks. in january, those numbers plummeted again. by 19%. it comes after a string about -- of terror attacks. a diplomatic spat between turkey and russia has also hurt tourism , with russians being told to stay away.

the turkish prime minister moved to reassure global travelers. >> turkey is your home. you can come to this beautiful and safe country with your mind at ease. >> he also talked about a package to boost the industry. tour operators were her being -- were hoping for a surge to save the season. let's take a look at some of the other stories. has said that the top -- telecom italia has said that the person is stepping down.

the chairman and chief executive of french insurance giant access says it is time that a new management team is brought into implementing a strategic land. the deputy ceo will take over in september. apple could be launching a smaller and cheaper iphone. the move would give the tech giant a better platform to take on samsung. the company has tried to penetrate the midtier market with the iphone 5c, but did it not prove to be the big seller apple was calling for. there is a famous cartoon character who has want up on a train in taiwan. >> if you are a hello kitty fan, you may want to ride the hello kitty themed train.

taiwan's railway administration is hoping the marketing campaign will draw more leisure travelers. they want to show that the trains can be safe and fun at the same time. it passes through many vacation spots on the east coast of the the famouscluding landscapes of to coral gorge. not sure if that could work in europe, for instance. anchor: i know a five-year-old anythingho would board that had hello kitty on it area -- on it. now it is time for the press review. we are here to take a look at the international papers. >> lots of focus on the historic visit by president barack obama to cuba. the first by a u.s. president in almost 90 years. "the guardian" is saying that it

berlin wall obama's moment. we see similar language in "the miami herald." an independent newspaper in havana has it on the front page, as well. i wanted to point out that the cuban communist party's official newspaper is also talking about the historic visit to cuba by president obama. much of this thawing and relations can be attributed to castro. "the wall street journal" is running an interesting article. basically, they compare the two fidelers, raul and castro. raul has been chipping away at

the communist system in the country for years. cubans to runf their on businesses, to go on the internet, and cuba brokered peace talks between columbia and the farc last year. 40% of cubans earn income through the private sector. we have seen these changes coming for a long time. wealthy dell was the dreamer -- idel was the dreamer and was happy to see the u.s. become the scapegoat, raul is delegating and pragmatic. anchor: are all papers thrilled about the visit? >> not all of them. i want to point your attention to a state-controlled local septiembre." de they remind people that will the visit is historic, the u.s.-cuba dispute has come at a high material and human cost to the

country. they said that all future cuban relations will be discussed only on our stage. anchor: the other big story is the arrest of salah abdeslam, alive in brussels. >> the french papers have been running this story quite a lot this monday. after the arrest, it is time for answers, is what they are urging. another paper has questions about the escape. noticeably, how did he manage to evade authorities while hiding in plain sight? i wanted to turn your attention to another editorial. it says that his arrest was a struggle. in a matter of hours, his lawyer has made it clear that he will use all means possible to hold the process down and delay it as long as possible.

soundingreally caution. is one oflah abdeslam the main suspects from the paris terror attacks last september. france perceived to be belgium lagging in intelligence and that has been brought up again. it has been restarted following salah abdeslam's arrest. i want to look at a belgian paper -- the headline says "the not so cordial agreement." that is the headline. in the aftermath, belgian authorities did let him pass through the border despite holding him back. there has been animosity. one french mp has been quoted as saying that belgium is responsible for the 130 people who died in the paris terror attacks. filing aeslam will be

lawsuit against the paris prosecutor francois molins for leaking information. there is a lot of rancor between the two countries. anchor: how an attempt at crowdsourcing by the british national council has gone awry. with probably started off the most innocent of intentions, but it has been hijacked by that cheeky british sense of humor. the environmental council has asked the public to name its new polar research vessel. project, it has not been built yet. pounds.cost 200 million it seems that people don't really care much for that. the names that have been making this competition, among the cop can tenders are the desktop contenders -- the top contenders are the rss boaty mcboatface.

of --is a possible change chance it will not make the cut. rss using bold. -- ussaind"b"bbq

>> hello, i'm john cleese and i've got a question for you. what do you believe about ecstasy? not the drug, of course, but ecstasy as in the ecstatic state, that phenomenon found in so many religious and spiritual traditions. well, in this program, we will explore the ecstatic state through the inner world of the sufis and the whirling dervishes of turkey and of the orisha priestesses of africa and brazil. so, settle back, take a deep breath, as we join our host phil cousineau on this memorable, highly charged episode of "global spirit," the first internal travel series.